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Monday, May 20, 2013

Here's the flier I designed for my antique booth. My wife, who came up with "The Time Machine" as a name for the booth, usually does this type of thing for me, but I took a crack at it myself this time, and I'm pretty happy with the results.
(click on the image for a closer look)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

A film that the late, great Roger Ebert once called a “picaresque journey
through the imagination,” Return of the
Jedi is the third film in the original Star
Wars trilogy, releasing May 25, 1983. It is the follow-up to the dark, critically
acclaimed Empire Strikes Back, which
hit theaters in 1980, and the revolutionary space opera Star Wars, which changed cinema forever in 1977.

In Jedi, Luke Skywalker,
with the help of Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2, formulates a plan
to rescue Han Solo from the grotesque crime lord, Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile,
the Empire is building a second Death Star, a structure the Rebels plan to
destroy. The furry, diminutive Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor lend the Rebel
forces a helping hand (or should that be paw?) in shutting down the Death
Star’s shield generator.Best of all,Luke confronts his deadly father, Darth Vader, who redeems himself
in the end.

Most sci-fi/fantasy fans seem to love Return of the Jedi, which was directed by Richard Marquand and
written by Lawrence Kasdan and Star Wars
creator George Lucas. However, the film has been criticized in some circles for
repeating the primary plot point of the original Star Wars: the attack by Rebel forces on the Death Star.

Star Wars historian and novelist John Jackson Miller, author of the
forthcoming Star Wars: Kenobi
(LucasBooks, Aug. 27), disagrees with this assessment. “There was absolutely no
reason for the Emperor not to have constructed a Death Star again—fixing the
problems from the first time—so that's a natural direction for the story to
take,” he said. “The assault on the Death Star is also significantly different
on many levels, so I don't think it's similar at all.”

Certain Jedi bashers also
point to the loveable, huggable Ewoks as a weakness, but Miller thinks they
earned their rightful place among iconic Star
Wars characters. “The Ewoks, we now know, were stand-ins for the Wookiees,
which were too expensive to outfit and film,” he said. “But even so, there is
something meaningful about showing how the least of the Empire's victims had
the ability to stand up for themselves.”

When Return of the Jedi
was being made, it was produced under the fake working title of “Blue Harvest,”
which was used to hide the operation from fans, paparazzi, and curiosity
seekers. As such, numerous “Blue Harvest” film production items were created,
including buttons, caps, coats, invoices, and signs, all of which are rare and highly
sought after by collectors today.

Also in great demand among is the “Revenge of the Jedi” poster. At
one point during the production of Return
of the Jedi, the name was altered to “Revenge of the Jedi,” but Lucas changed
the title back to Return of the Jedi
to better reflect the nature of the Rebel forces. Prior to restoring the film
to its original name, Lucasfilm had printed thousands of teaser posters with
the “Revenge of the Jedi” title. Although Lucasfilm stopped general
distribution of the posters, the company sold remaining copies to Star Wars fan club members for $9.50
each. Today, a near mint “Revenge of the Jedi” poster is worth around
$500-$600.

“Revenge of the Jedi” action figure proof cards, manufactured by
Kenner, are also highly collectable, frequently changing hands for as much as
$400-$500 each. “Revenge of the Jedi” figures were never produced, but proof
cards for those unmade figures “somehow” found their way into the hands of various
Kenner employees.

“Revenge of the Jedi” production items are valuable as well, such
as the custom-made jacket featured on the third season premiere of Storage Wars. Barry Weiss, known on the
show as “The Collector,” paid $45 for the jacket, which he was later told is
worth upwards of $3,000.

Regarding standard Return of
the Jedi collectibles, here’s a listing of some of the more interesting
items recently sold on eBay, along with prices realized:

Super 8mm Scope Feature Film: $630

Speeder Bike Pedal Car, a promotional item never sold in stores: $475.00

Nicely preserved, unopened Return
of the Jedi figures do indeed sell for hundreds of dollars apiece—especially
when graded by the AFA (Action Figure Authority)—but loose figures can easily
be found online, at toy shows, and elsewhere for just four or five dollars each.

The desirability of Return of
the Jedi collectibles reflects the entertainment value and timeless nature
of the film. “The space battle is wonderful, and everything that happens on the
Death Star is moving and powerful,” Miller said. “The events on Endor are perhaps
less gripping, although necessary to show that it's a team effort, and that the
Rebellion is working in many places at once.”

Miller saw all the Star Wars
movies in the theater, first-run, and he has special memories of watching Return of the Jedi with other fans. “The
Jedi premiere was the only film I've ever been at when the audience all stood
up during the climactic sequence, cheering Darth as he makes his decision,” he
said. “That was a surreal experience for me as a high school freshman, and unique
to this day.”

These days, Return of the
Jedi is referred to as Star Wars
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, thanks to a second trilogy of Star Wars films, acting as prequels, that
began in 1999 with Star Wars Episode I:
The Phantom Menace. In 2015, Disney, which bought the property recently,
will begin releasing new Star Wars
films.

For those of us who grew
up watching the original Star Wars
trilogy, it’s hard to believe that Return
of the Jedi is turning 30 this month. But, like one of those AT-AT Walkers
in Empire Strikes Back, time does
march on.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

So goes the tagline for Alien, one of the greatest (not to mention scariest) science
fiction movies ever made. Released in 1979 by 20th Century Fox, Alien was directed by preeminent auteur
Ridley Scott (from a screenplay by Dan O’Bannon), who would achieve further
fame in the ensuing years with such fantastic films as Blade Runner (1982), Thelma
& Louise (1991), and Gladiator
(2000). Among other accolades, Alien earned an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, a
Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, and Saturn Awards for Best Director, Best
Science Fiction Film, and Best Supporting Actress (Veronica Cartwright).

The story, which was influenced in part by the
sci-fi B-movie classics It! The Terror
from Beyond Space (1958) and Planet
of the Vampires (1965), centers around the crew of the space freighter,
Nostromo. After reacting to an apparent distress signal, the ship lands on a
dark, dreary, windswept planet and encounters horrifying, acid-dripping, H.R.
Geiger-designed aliens. These creatures go through several stages of increasingly
scary metamorphoses, the most horrific of which is an incubation period inside
the human body followed by bursting through the host’s chest. Needless to say,
things don’t turn out too well for most of the Nostromo crew members.

Thanks to its shockeroo thrills, gothic imagery, and
iconic monsters, Alien is as much a
horror picture as it is a sci-fi feature. The film oozes with creepy
atmospherics from the beginning—the awakening of the Nostromo crew—until the
end: Ripley returning to sleep after her nightmarish alien encounter.

Watching Alien
today, the viewer realizes that it hasn’t dated a minute, from the dark,
greasy, industrial design of the ship to the gorgeous visual effects to the
quality acting of the ensemble cast, which includes Sigourney Weaver (Ripley),
Tom Skerritt (Dallas), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), Harry Dean Stanton
(Brett), John Hurt (Kane), Ian Holm (Ash), and Yaphet Kotto (Parker).

Willie Goldman, owner and administrator of www.alienscollection.com,
a reference guide and resource library for Alien
collectors, calls the film a “benchmark” in the history of believable sci-fi
cinema.

“Alien
wasn't the first movie to ‘dirty-down’ spaceships, but it was the first to do it
with an incredible sense of realism,” he said. “With Star Wars taking place in a world that's as much fantasy as science
fiction, Alien feels very much rooted
in our world, and in doing so makes its most fantastical element—the Alien
itself—all the more believable. Not to take anything away from [Star Wars creator George] Lucas, but the
aliens in the Star Wars universe
range from cute and cuddly to grand and gross, while the alien in Alien is simply terrifying.”

Alien spawned three direct sequels: James Cameron's brilliant
Aliens (1986), David Fincher's dreadful
Alien 3 (1992), and Jean-Pierre
Jeunet's mediocre Alien Resurrection
(1997). Plus, there were a number of offshoots, including films in the Alien vs. Predator franchise.

Goldman cites Aliens
as his favorite film in the series. “James Cameron gave us the most logical
extension to the events that transpired in the film before,” he said. “Most
sequels are just another ride on the same rollercoaster with a different coat
of paint, but what Cameron did in expanding the film's universe made it all the
more real. If Aliens had been a
complete failure, there never would have been a franchise—that would have been
it.”

The Alien franchise
is rife with collecting opportunities for the budget-minded film fan and for high-end
collectors alike. While there are plenty of common action figures, comic books,
games, model kits, T-shirts, and other such items available for sale from a
variety of sources, there are rare and valuable items as well.

“The rarest stuff will always be the props and
costumes used in the films,” Goldman said. “Toy prototypes are also highly sought
after. Galoob created a space station playset modeled after LV-426 that never
made it into production while Kenner produced a prototype for a large-size
Dropship.”

One of the most desirable mass-produced Alien items is the original 18” Kenner action figure from 1979, which is worth $500-$1,000 new in the package and upwards of $300 loose and complete. According to BugEyedMonster.com, the toy didn’t sell very well because the film was rated R, meaning most children didn’t see it and therefore had no desire for Alien merchandise. In addition, the toy was cheaply made and is easily breakable, making complete, unbroken figures very hard to find.

Goldman has more Alien
items in his collection than he can count, but “getting stuff” takes a back
seat to interacting with fellow collectors. “The single greatest joy I get from
doing this is the human element—meeting and interacting with other folks that
share the same passion,” he said. “It's not the owning of something—after all,
you really can't take it with you—but all the new people I meet and friends
I've made through collecting.”

Alien turns 35 next year. To celebrate early, you can attend the Alien Reunion at Texas FrightmareWeekend in Dallas, taking place May 3, 4, and
5. Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright will be on hand to sign autographs and
pose for pictures with fans.

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About Me

A freelance writer, I'm the author of the Classic Home Video Games series, The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987, Encyclopedia of KISS, and other books. I've had articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Filmfax, Fangoria, AntiqueWeek, The Writer, Mystery Scene, and more.
Contact me at brettw105 AT sbcglobal.net.